Continued exacerbation of income disparity and other social issues has caused unrest through many of the existing social structures, going so far as to fracture the US into six mostly sovereign superstates in the Second Civil War of 2093: Cascadia, Lakewood, The Mojave Territories, The Gulf Collective, North Atlantic, and South Atlantic. Each superstate has a megatropolis created when major cities from the Old USA merged into each other. These consist of New Vegas in the Mojave Territories, Milwalkago in Lakewood, NewPhilyBaltiBurg in North Atlantic, Cinexingille in South Atlantic, San Austin in The Gulf Collective, and King Pierce in Cascadia.

Political Structure:

Each superstate has one elected Governor and a number of appointed representatives (the number of which is decided by population size, the nominees decided on by the governor and voted for by the constituents) which attend a twice-annual Continental Convention. Decisions that don’t pertain directly to the state and its funds are made by a panel of six SuperGovernors, chosen by the previous panel from the collection of people who have been Governors in the past. Running for office is only possible if you have the funds to attempt such an endeavor, and is strictly something pursued by the wealthy.

The superstates have their own squabbles, the most notable of which is between Cascadia and The Mojave Territories. Cascadia is a rich agricultural hub whose megatropolis is far north, and Mojave is always trying to expand its northern border into some of that farmland (what used to be Colorado, especially). Because of this, what used to be the city of Denver is now something of a military hub that Cascadia uses to defend its territory.

READ MORE ABOUT THE POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND HISTORY OF NEW AMERICA HERE

City Structure:

While income disparity was starting to ramp up in the early 2000’s, it continued to slide and didn’t recover. As such, almost every town and city has a section for its wealthier citizens, from a neighborhood or two in small towns to gated communities and areas that are separated off by large man-made parks in the big cities and megatropolises. These areas tend to have better infrastructure, more responsive law enforcement, tighter security, etc. The public at large is kept out of them by a combination of classism and disdain for the people who live there.

Most local law enforcement gets their fresh blood from the Cadet program, something that children are able to enlist in once they turn 16 and is expected to be completed alongside schoolwork (but often takes over a person’s schoolwork and turns the police into their only viable career option.) Local law enforcement only makes up the bare bones of the structure, as it can only get what it takes from the populace, and is generally underfunded.

Extra forces, extra equipment, and extra funding, are provided at will by the Panel to those they find “worthy”, which is to say that the local government have been pushing the Panel’s agendas and not getting too distracted by the public’s silly demands and revolts. This keeps the wealthy and government-oriented in any particular city or state from being willing to associate themselves with even the most well intentioned rebel groups, as if they do, they don’t have the forces necessary to prevent the lootings and small riots that are becoming all too common.

Because of a lack of any efficient law enforcement to speak of, most of the people’s trust as far as settling day to day squabbles and injustices has fallen to local gangs.

Gang activity is very common, both as a form of rebellion and lawlessness, and as a form of the public taking their communities and their justice into their own hands. As a whole, they’re based more on location than on race, belief, or any other criteria, and don’t often jostle for power. Each gang’s “territory” is well established and reasonably well respected, and while the more daring leaders will skirt the edges of wealthy neighborhoods, for the most part, they stay the fuck out of there. Relationships between different gangs and gang leaders vary wildly, but for the most part they’ve taken an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” sort of stance in that the biggest enemy here is the State, and if they maintain even a fragile sort of peace, they can patrol the communities they care about more effectively.

Being in a gang is not illegal but almost everything they engage in is. Local level law enforcement doesn’t generally get involved, simply because the problem is so much bigger than what they’re prepared to deal with, but if a gang gets too large or too dangerous, the Panel will generally send in addition forces to stamp them out like they do with any other rebellion that gets too large.

Children and teens still participate in the standard mandatory k-12 education, but the government has pulled almost all government funding for scholarships and the like, so secondary education is pretty well restricted to the wealthy. To compensate, fields like doctors, lawyers, and engineers participate in on the job training for candidates who are chosen toward the end of their k-12 career with something like the ASVAB unless a student has gotten involved with an apprenticeship or the cadet program of their own accord.

Religion:

Since 2046, a new religion known only as the Faith has taken over most religious circles, both because of its popularity, and because it helps with many public services that the government falls short on. In King Pierce, the Faith runs a hospital and an orphanage. While there is a government run clinic, the doctors are very low par, and malpractice is common. Because of this aid, the church has a fairly good reputation even with those who aren't Faithful. While some people recognize it as a cult that seeks to spread its influence, they still cannot deny that the church is necessary, and does far more good than bad.

Additionally, over the past 100 years or so, humans have started to see mutations to their genes, presumably the next stage of evolution, granting some of them extraordinary powers. Not much is known about these humans, but they are widely feared and discriminated against where they are found to exist.

Public Reception: For the most part, mutants are discriminated against in the standard Jim Crow-esque way of the ‘60s, with the occasional lynch mob for a mutant who makes themself too obvious. Government-distributed propaganda labels them as an insidious danger to mankind, and while they’re generally effectively blocked from higher positions in society (doctors, teachers, legislators, celebrities) if it comes out that anyone in such a position is a mutant, it’s a national scandal. Even half-assed rumors with enough momentum behind them can ruin a person’s career.

Testing: With the evolution of science and an unknowable amount of testing on mutants who end up arrested for petty crime, there is a test available to determine if a person carries the gene that enables mutant abilities. It’s labor-intensive and expensive, so for the most part it isn’t done except by wealthy families on their children and to solve allegations of mutant-ism in higher up branches of legislation. *NOTE: It is not at all uncommon for wealthy families to test their children as infants, particularly those who would inherit the family wealth/business, and to kill them if mutant genes are found. While it’s technically illegal, no person to do this has ever faced justice in court.